The Magic Goes Away
Paul Kupperberg (story) and Jan Duursema (art)
DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel, 1986
'The Magic Goes Away' is DC Graphic Novel No. 6, published in 1986. It's based on a novella that Larry Niven published in 1976 in Odyssey magazine. Niven later reworked the novella and related stories for publication in a series of paperbacks issued by Ace Books (with black and white illustrations by Esteban Maroto), and small press publishers, all the way through 2012.
Not being a huge Larry Niven fan I never read the novella, but I was willing to read this graphic novel adaptation.
The plot revolves around a far-future Earth where magic has replaced science and the world is ruled by magicians, witches, and sorcerers. Unfortunately, mana - depicted as a natural resource - is dwindling, and with it the power of the mages. As the story opens a team of mages is bemoaning the shortage of mana and pondering ways to acquire more.
In their discourse, they are joined by a Conan the Barbarian lookalike named Orolandes, a survivor of the recent collapse of an entire civilization, and a man who therefore truly understands the dire implications of the magic 'going away'.
Orolandes and the mages decide that drastic action is needed, and set out for the summit of Mount Valhalla where, it is rumored, the ancient god of the Norsemen still retains a significant supply of mana..........a supply that will be used to replenish the mana on the Earth by bringing down the Moon...........
'The Magic Goes Away' is pretty awful. Given that the online reviews I've seen of Niven's novella are less than complimentary, I can believe that writer Kupperberg had his work cut out for him. But his script for the graphic novel is incoherent, so much so that at times I thought the page order had been screwed up by the DC editorial staff.
Most of the narrative is preoccupied with depicting conversations between the assorted mages and shamans and witches. It's a shame the writing is so miserable, because the artwork by Duursema, which even includes some 80s- style cheesecake, is well done.
The reviews of Niven's novella state that he wrote it to serve as an allegory for the shortage of fossil fuels that confronted the U.S. in the 1970s. Be that as it may, 'The Magic Goes Away' fails to impress either as an allegory or as a fantasy adventure in its own right. I can't recommend this graphic novel adaptation to anyone other than hardcore Niven fans.
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